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Participant
September 4, 2026
Open for Voting

P: PS 27.9 and later (GenAI): Generative Fill not working as intended

Hey everyone,

Up until recently, I was using Photoshop 27.8 (Mac 26.5.1) and everything worked perfectly fine.

The newer Generative Fill and Expand model produces textures that are way too smooth. I’d even call them blurry. And yes, I’m aware of the 1024×1024 px limitation, but this happens even with 100×100 px selection.

Because of that, I’ve been using the old Firefly 1 model from 2023, which, unlike the newer model, works really well for my use case. It handles textures amazingly well. I mainly use it for removing distractions: I select the unwanted object, leave the prompt empty, hit Generate, and Firefly 1 understands perfectly well that the selected area should be removed.

However, something seems to have changed starting with version 27.9.

If I leave the prompt empty now, Firefly 1 starts generating completely random objects instead of simply filling/removing the selected area. For example, I had a white T-shirt with some red text on it that I wanted to remove. I selected the text, left the prompt empty, and generated. Instead of removing the text, it generated a teddy bear. Not even as a print on the shirt, but as if someone had placed an actual teddy bear in front of the shirt.

Using a prompt like “remove” somewhat helps, but the results are still noticeably worse than they were in 27.8.

The newer Generative Fill and Expand model actually handles prompt-free generations better, but the overly smooth/blurry textures are still there, so it’s basically unusable for my workflow. It also seems to behave worse than it did in 27.8, although this happens much less frequently than with Firefly 1.

Since Firefly 1 is an old model that presumably isn’t being updated anymore, I’m guessing something changed in the communication between Photoshop and the model itself rather than the model actually changing.

When 27.10 came out, I was hoping this might have been fixed, but unfortunately the behavior is still exactly the same. The same thing also happens in the 27.11 beta.

I wouldn’t mind staying on 27.8, but the latest version introduced the Light Adjustment Layer, which is a complete game changer for my workflow. Unfortunately, I use Firefly 1 much more frequently, so I can’t really justify upgrading when it makes such an important part of my workflow unreliable.

Has anyone else noticed this behavior with Firefly 1, or found a workaround?

12 replies

Participant
September 8, 2026

I opened a closeup photo of someone with a line of text over it. I selected image, said “remove text, keep image the same” (which has worked many times before) and it replaced the entire image with a landscape, then it replaced it with an eagle. I used nano banana 2.5/3/3.1 on beta and normal versions latest updates. Not looking to use the remove tool, or the firefly tool either. Sometimes the image will be a mag cover and I need to remove text over the entire image to clean it up. 

 

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Participant
September 7, 2026

I’m sending the system info, although I’m currently on version 27.8 because I still need to be able to work. I also have Photoshop Beta installed, so I’m including the info from that version as well.

What I can confirm is that the issue is still present in 27.11. I’m also attaching screenshots showing the results. They include the original unedited version, the version edited in 27.8 (the last version where it worked correctly), and the result from the latest version (currently tested in Beta, but I also tested it in 27.9.x and 27.10).

The process was always exactly the same: I made a selection around the magnet (I also saved it so that both versions use the exact same selection for generating), including a little extra area so the model had enough information about the texture it needed to generate, and then sent it for generation using the Firefly 1 model without entering a prompt.

Version 27.8 didn’t have any issues, whereas the newer versions randomly generate random objects. The screenshot shows one of the three generations, but all three results were similarly unusable.

 

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Participant
September 7, 2026

BRO! I know right!!!! The newer model is GARBAGE! Blurry AF & doesn’t match texture at all, so I like you, would use Version 1, now it’s TOTALLY USELESS!!! I used it on clothing, skin, everything, it was so perfect, now it creates insane little objects everywhere. I honestly don’t believe anyone at Adobe uses their products. How hopeless can they be?! Seriously, it’s sooooo frustrating. I need these tools for my career and they are COMPLETELY UNRELIABLE!!!

Don’t get me started on Adobe Illustrator too, the mouse just drops to 2 frames per second over UI elements. The interface is a CHORE to use!

I’ve been using adobe products for like 20 years and this is seriously the most hopeless, pathetic, garbage they have EVER been.

Infuriating.

I would love to be CEO for a couple of months and focus on making they software work. 

X

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Participant
September 7, 2026

Finally, someone has confirmed that the issue is actually there and that it’s not just something wrong with my application. I’ve already contacted support twice about this. The first person didn’t really try to investigate it and just told me to use the Generative Fill and Expand model instead.

I’m so happy that Im not the only one using AI specifically to fix things like clothing issues, where preserving the existing texture is really important. That’s exactly where the old model works really well.

At the moment, I’m working with the old stable version where the AI still works properly, and I use the Beta app for the new features. It’s just annoying having to switch between the two all the time.

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Claire H.
Community Manager
Community Manager
September 4, 2026

Hi @Delightful_shape37ae, Welcome to the Photoshop Community forum! To better help you with this issue, we would like a few more details. Can you send your system info and a screen recording of the issue? You can find your system info by going to Help > System Info, copying and pasting it into a text file, and attaching it here. Thanks! ^CH

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Participant
September 12, 2026

Any news? I can confirm that not only firefly 1 is broken, but also firefly 5.

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Sameer K
Community Manager
Community Manager
September 14, 2026

Hey, @Delightful_shape37ae. I have been able to consistently reproduce this failure in my few attempts. I've shared this with the team for review and assessment.


Thanks!
Sameer K
(Type '@' and type my name to mention me when you reply)

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c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
Community Expert
August 24, 2026

Quite frankly I don't understand what the prompt is supposed to elicit.

Do you want to add a finger or bend the finger more strongly or ...?

 

Have you tried one of the partner models instead of firefly? 

Edit: When using the partner models make sure the selection is square. 

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Dmitrii35956449d9tl
August 23, 2026

 I wanted the hand to look nicer...

 

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c.pfaffenbichler
Community Expert
Community Expert
August 23, 2026

Please post screenshot with the pertinent panels visible.

Could you bu using firefly image 1?

 

What pixel dimensions are the images or selections you process thusly?

Edit: Both Firefly and the partner models are currently subject to pixel limitations. 

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Trevor.Dennis
Community Expert
Community Expert
August 23, 2026

What models have you been using?  Gemini 3.1 is the only one I trust to restore images.  It sounds like you might have been switched to one of the Firefly models.  They are good at fill in holes, or inventing entire images from a blank page, but pants at fixing an existing image.  

How many credits do you have?  Could you have run out of credits forcing Photoshop to switch to one of the Unlimited models?  That’s probably not the case, as I think it would give you an error message before moving to a different model.

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Participating Frequently
August 23, 2026

Photoshop generative AI has gone completely off the rails suddenly? 

Just last week i was working on a project restoring some old photos. I used simple prompts along the lines of “restore this photo and preserve all facial features” etc. and it worked absolutely perfectly. 

I came back to it today and all of a sudden it is generating bizarre overlays. Like a green box. Or a dirty machine parts. Or a flower. Or a made up face. What is it, did they break their LLM over the weekend??

 

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